Pope confronts historical splits on Caucasus trip

Published 2:13 pm, Saturday, October 1, 2016

Orthodox priests wait for Pope Francis to arrive for a Mass in a stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia. The patriarchate decided at the last minute not to send an official delegation to the Mass.

Orthodox priests wait for Pope Francis to arrive for a Mass in a stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia. The patriarchate decided at the last minute not to send an official delegation to the Mass.

Photo: Alessandra Tarantino, Associated Press

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This handout picture released by the Vatican press office shows Pope Francis as he frees a dove at the end of his meeting with the Community Assyrian-Chaldean of Tbilisi at the Church of St. Simon Bar Sabbae on September 30, 2016 as part of his trip to Georgia and Azerbaijan. / AFP PHOTO / OSSERVATORE ROMANO / HO / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / OSSERVATORE ROMANO" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS HO/AFP/Getty Images less

This handout picture released by the Vatican press office shows Pope Francis as he frees a dove at the end of his meeting with the Community Assyrian-Chaldean of Tbilisi at the Church of St. Simon Bar Sabbae on ... more

Photo: HO, AFP/Getty Images

Pope confronts historical splits on Caucasus trip

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TBILISI, Georgia — Pope Francis’ efforts to improve relations with the Georgian Orthodox Church suffered a setback Saturday after the patriarchate decided at the last minute not to send an official delegation to his Mass and reminded the Orthodox faithful they cannot participate in Catholic services.

Francis still pressed on with his agenda, insisting that Catholics must never try to convert Orthodox and bowing in prayer alongside the Orthodox patriarch after they both lit a candle in the Orthodox cathedral.

Francis called for the historical divisions that have “lacerated” Christianity to be healed through patience, trust and dialogue.

“We are called to be one in Jesus Christ and to avoid putting disharmony and divisions between the baptized first, because what unites us is much more than what divides us,” he told Patriarch Ilia, amid the Aramaic chants and hypnotic bells tolling at the cathedral in the spiritual capital of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Saturday’s developments on the second and final day of Francis’ visit to Georgia reflected the “one step forward, two steps back” progress that often accompanies the Vatican’s outreach to the Orthodox Church, which split from the Catholic Church over 1,000 years ago over issues including the primacy of the pope.

On Sunday, Francis heads to largely Shiite Muslim Azerbaijan, where the Catholic Church enjoys good relations with the government despite allegations of human rights abuses and the suppression of dissent.

Before Francis’ Caucasus visit, the Vatican spokesman had said the Georgian Orthodox Patriarchate would send a delegation to the Mass in a Tbilisi sports stadium “in a sign of the rapport” — suggesting the chill that had clouded St. John Paul II’s visit in 1999 had warmed. And Francis had received an unexpectedly warm welcome from the Orthodox leader upon his arrival Friday.

But Orthodox patriarchate spokeswoman Nato Asatiani said Saturday that the delegation had stayed away from the Mass “by mutual agreement.” The patriarchate updated a statement on its website saying “as long as there are dogmatic differences between our churches, Orthodox believers will not participate in their prayers.”

The decision apparently came after Francis’ arrival in Tbilisi was met with protests by hard-line Orthodox opposed to ecumenical initiatives. On Saturday, about 100 members of the hard-line Union of Orthodox Parents demonstrated outside the stadium where Francis celebrated Mass.

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